Day One

Sunday, June 14

• 6:05 AM - Arrived in Nairobi
  
• 7:30 AM - Cleared Immigration with all of our luggage!! (Yes, that is huge.) Joined Joseph, Judy and Pauline on the busses and willed ourselves to stay awake.
  
• 8:00 AM - Pulled into the PCEA Orthopedic Hospital Guesthouse where we found out that they thought we were coming the day before. (Woops. So did we.) Showered. Willed ourselves to stay awake.
  
• 9:30 AM - Climbed on the bus to head to Sigona Presbyterian Church
  
• 10 AM - Reunion with dear old friends. Gathered in the vestry to prepare for worship. (Worship preparation and gathering after worship with the leaders is as worshipful as any formal service.)
  
• 10:30-12:30 AM - Worship with our partners. Rev. Elizabeth preached in Kikuyu and English, and we sang old familiar tunes in a new language (at least to us.)
  
• 1 PM - Headed out for home visits of the Preschoolers. We divided into 3 groups and walked through different areas, visiting 12 total families of preschoolers and high schoolers supported by the Sigona/Davidson partnership.
  
• 4 PM - Late (really late when you're tired) lunch at the home of Hannah Sr. Such good food and joyful company.
• 7:30 PM - Returned to Guesthouse and off to bed.

Donja's Reflection - My experience today was amazing. The home visits really touched me and showed me how much we take for granted (or how much I take my mom for granted). These children love to learn and they know about the lord. They can even recite Bible verses without a Bible. The people are so friendly, and I'm just so glad my dream finally became a reality.

Shelli's Reflection - Today I visited five homes of preschool students from Sigona. All five houses would have fit together into the bottom floor of the front half of the house I live in. The transition from travel to home visits was so abrupt I found myself initially detached. Lisle said it best at devotions this evening when she said that our home visits started so quickly, we were inside the first house before she even knew it was a house. When we were standing outside the rusted aluminum structure was assumed to be a garden shed. It was only when Sigona members, Teacher Martha and 4 from our team (9 in total) were packed in knee to knee with no room to spare and one in the doorway that it began to sink in that we were in Nancy's, Paul and his siblings living room.

Nancy told us of her love of Christ. Our group has reflected about what it sounds like to hear a person in Kenya tell us that they are"saved by Jesus Christ." It sounds sincere. It sounds like a part of their identity and gentle and true. It sounds different somehow. Nancy told us that her greatest hope is that her children will finish school. Paul is 8 and part of the nursery. His brother is also over 2 years behind. "I want my children to have education and daily bread." That was the answer that all of the mothers (in our 5 home visits, there were only mothers) gave. I wonder as you are reading this, what your hope is for your family. I hope that I will allow all of the generosity and need wash over me and that I will return to you changed. I always hope that . . .

Anyway, Nancy said something like this to us. "In our country, when you have something and when you have someone in your home, you share. I know it doesn't look like I have much, but I would like to invite you to tea. I was late coming to the door because I was getting it ready." And so, we 4 Davidsonians who had paid more for our plane tickets than Nancy would make in 4 years of work , were humbled, honored and served tea and biscuits.